CryptoPunks have maintained a dominant position in the NFT market, with a market share that has reached over 30% on a monthly average.
CryptoPunks, one of the first crypto collectibles developed on blockchain, have remained the unwavering pioneer in the NFT market.
This crypto collection, which launched in July 2017 on the Ethereum blockchain, has shown resilience, retaining its popularity and securing its position as one of the most recognizable and valuable NFT collections in this market, despite the fluctuations seen since the boom in 2021.
In a recent report published by Coingecko, the platform highlighted that CryptoPunks remain the dominant crypto collection, with a 30,9% market share, and ranking above other popular ones, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Pudgy Penguins.
CryptoPunks: More than double the dominance of any other collection
According to Coingecko’s report, the iconic CryptoPunks crypto collection is the only one to have seen a 10 percentage point increase in dominance over a single year, making it by far the largest NFT collection in terms of market share. The report also highlighted that this non-fungible token collection has consistently ranked in the top 10 by monthly average market cap and is the only one to have maintained a market dominance more than double that of other digital collections.
Source: Coingecko
CryptoPunks are a digital art collection consisting of 10.000 unique algorithmically generated characters. Each punk in the collection is a small 24x24 pixel portrait depicting human, ape, zombie, and alien characters, with unique features and distinctive accessories.
This crypto collection has seen steady growth in its market share, surpassing Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) in May 2023. CoinGecko indicated that at the beginning of 2022, CryptoPunks held a 24,8% share, while BAYC led with 29,3%. Although CryptoPunks momentarily fell to second place in that year, it managed to maintain a narrow gap and regain the top ranking in May 2023, thanks to its more resilient price floor.
Over the past three years, from 2022 to date, CryptoPunks’ dominance has ranged from a low of 14,0% in May 2022 to a high of 36,6% in January 2024. Notably, although its dominance has declined slightly since the beginning of this year, CryptoPunks has managed to dominate the NFT market with over 30,9% in October.
Other collections keep users interested in NFTs
Despite the decline in the NFT market since the 2021 boom, other collections have managed to maintain user interest. The report underlined that CryptoPunks and BAYC are the only NFT collections that have consistently ranked in the top 10 by monthly average market capitalization from 2022 to date. However, five other non-fungible token collections have also frequently occupied the top spots over these three years, although they have not achieved an uninterrupted streak. These crypto collections are: Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Azuki, autoglyphs, Chromie Squiggle from Snowfro and Fidenza by Tyler Hobbs.
Regarding BAYC, the report highlighted that the decline of this NFT ecosystem has been notable. BAYC, the flagship creation of Yuga Labs, has steadily lost its dominance of the NFT market, going from dominating a high of 29,3% in January 2022 to 12,8% in October 2024. The floor price of BAYC peaked at 153,7 ETH, equivalent to about $420.430 USD on May 1, 2022, and has declined significantly since then.
On the other hand, collections such as pudgy penguins y Milady Maker have gained ground. In the case of pudgy penguins It first ranked among the top 10 NFT collections in September 2023, with a 2,7% dominance, and has tripled its share to reach 9,5% in October 2024. Milady Maker, for its part, ranked among the top 10 for the first time with a 2,5% share in August 2023 and has managed to maintain a 4,5% share in October.
The rise of Solana and the entry of Bitcoin into the NFT market
The NFT market has historically been dominated by Ethereum. However, in recent years other blockchains have gained recognition and acceptance, such as Solana. The blockchain created by Anatoly Yakovenko has gained importance against Ethereum as a competitor in the NFT market.
Throughout 2022, Ethereum NFTs completely dominated the monthly top 10 rankings. However, Ethereum's dominance in the NFT market began to be challenged by NFT collections created on the Solana and Bitcoin blockchains that managed to rank in 2023, such as DeGods, Mad Lads y Bitcoin Frogs. This number increased to four collections in 2024, with the addition of NodeMonkes, Runestone y Bitcoin Puppets.
The combined domain of the main Bitcoin Ordinals and Solana NFTs has increased more than fivefold, from 2,5% at the beginning of 2023 to 14,7% in October 2024. In particular, the combined dominance of non-Ethereum NFTs hit an all-time high of 25,3% in April of this year., driven by increased mastery of Runestone y Bitcoin Puppets in the middle of the Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin's entry into the NFT market with the launch of protocols such as Ordinals It has been an event of great impact. Although the dominance of Bitcoin NFTs Still in its infancy, the first blockchain in history has managed to gain ground quickly.
Along with Solana, the Bitcoin blockchain has enabled the NFT ecosystem to diversify, offering alternatives to Ethereum and attracting new users and developers. Overall, the growth of these collections reflects the maturity and diversification of the NFT market, which has evolved beyond its initial phase marked by speculation.
